Shuchi Talati is a filmmaker from India whose work challenges dominant narratives around gender, sexuality, and South Asian identity. Her feature film, Girls Will Be Girls, premiered at Sundance where it won an Audience Award and a Special Jury Award. Shuchi was a Gotham Awards Breakthrough Director nominee and a John Cassavetes Award nominee at the Spirit Awards. During development, Girls was supported by the Aide Aux Cinémas du Monde and Sørfond grants, Gotham Week, Berlinale Project Market and Script Station, and Cine Qua Non Script Lab. Shuchi’s short film, A Period Piece, was selected for SXSW and her film Mae and Ash won numerous awards before becoming a Vimeo Staff Pick. Shuchi’s documentary credits include story producing the Emmy-nominated film Being Mary Tyler Moore which premiered at SXSW. Shuchi also story produced the vérité series, We Are: The Brooklyn Saints, directed by Rudy Valdez for Netflix, and Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas for HBO, where one of her episodes was nominated for a GLAAD Award. She is a graduate of the American Film Institute and an alum of Berlinale Talents. She lives in NYC and is a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, the Bitchitra Collective, and the Freelance Solidarity Project.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

Shuchi shares her childhood love for books, her exposure to Bollywood and Hollywood films, and her introduction to cinema in university (00:03:45)
Making her first documentary (00:11:40)
The influence of observation in storytelling (00:14:55)
Interrogating values to harness a unique point of view (00:20:49)
Learning then unlearning techniques in film school and her project “Me and Ash” (00:25:29)
Capitalism vs. creative expression (00:27:50)
Shuchi’s writing/directing process for “Girls Will Be Girls,” and giving oneself space to mature with the process (00:30:43)
Discussing alternative ways of living (00:38:47)
A discussion on relationships, vulnerability, and the complexity of human behavior (00:55:06)
Shuchi’s daily habits, teaching screenwriting, creative accountability, and the importance of a creative community (01:08:47)
Shuchi’s decision to quit using social media (01:20:43)

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